Articles by Katelin
I looked through my old writing recently and found a few pieces that made me smile. I’m sharing one of those with you today.
“Ode to the Binder” is something I wrote for a high school English class assignment. At the time, I was working on an epic fantasy series and I kept all my paper notes about it in a binder. That story was the focus of imagination for many years and held a primary place in my heart.
The story notes grew to fill more binders, folders, and notebooks over the years, and I still have them all. . . .
In June, I had the opportunity to take a Pictured Rocks Kayaking tour on Lake Superior. This kayak tour company takes you out from Munising, MI on a large boat, then launches kayaks from the boat.
The weather did not cooperate with our plans. It was 50 degrees, foggy, and windy.
The tour guides decided the waves were getting too big, so they took us to Trout Bay at Grand Island instead. . . .
Do you listen to music while you write, or do you prefer to write in silence?
I know writers with both preferences. For me, music helps me focus and get into the mood of my story. It has to be instrumental music, though. Words will distract me!
Over the years I’ve been adding songs I like to one giant playlist on Spotify.
. . .
Do you want to write a book, but haven’t worked on it lately?
It’s so easy to put off writing or working on your book to another day, and before you know it another month has gone by with no more words on the page.
But what if you could look back on the last three months and see real progress on your book project?
To get there, you need a plan. . . .
I’m the weird person who enjoys tracking how many hours I work.
I’ve been tracking my writing time for years and now I have all this cool data! Yay charts and graphs!
But seriously… At the end of the day, week, or year, I tend to look at what’s still not done and think I should have done more. This is especially true if I’m working on a long-term project, like a book, and I don’t have anything finished yet. . . .
One of the goals I set for myself this year was to publish weekly on Substack. This went well until the last few weeks, when I hit a wall. I couldn’t think of anything to write and the looming deadline stressed me out. I felt like giving up rather than adhering to this arbitrary goal.
When I started in January, I didn’t have an editorial calendar with all my post topics scheduled out. I didn’t have several articles already written and ready to go so I could stay ahead of schedule. . . .
Recently I began planning a sequel to my novel Bound by Charcoal and Clay. I sat down to work through Blueprint for a Book by Jennie Nash, and… got stuck.
I didn’t really know what the protagonist wanted, why it matters to her, and what’s standing in her way. When I tried to figure out where the story will start, what needs to happen and why, I came up blank. The ideas just wouldn’t come.
It’s frustrating, but I’ve been here before, and I’ve gotten through it before. . . .
Last week, I attended the Catholic Writers Conference Live in Naperville, IL. This was my fourth time attending, and my second time coordinating pitch sessions.
Here are my highlights from the conference:
The people: it’s always wonderful to gather with writers!
The schedule: plenty of time in-between talks to have meaningful conversations. . . .
I recently finished re-reading the second book of the Stormlight Archive series, Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson.
When I wrote about the first book, The Way of Kings, I avoided spoilers. This time, be forewarned: I’m including spoilers!
In this article, I describe the core character arcs of the three main characters: Shallan, Kaladin, and Dalinar.
Looking at the structural elements of a finished book can help us understand why it works (or why it doesn’t work). . . .
What brings you joy in your writing or other creative work?
Many of us start writing because it’s fun to create and tell stories. It’s fun when
We dream up interesting characters, settings, and situations.
We watch the scenes play out in our heads.
We tell people about our story and receive encouragement.
We write the scenes and it feels like being immersed in a good movie. . . .
Last week, I wrote about how inspiring St. John Paul II’s Letter to Artists is for me (and hopefully for you, too!). I focused on the amazing quality of art (and stories) to connect us to God.
This week, I want to talk about another aspect of the message in Letter to Artists: the responsibility of artists to use their talents for the good of the world.
. . . .
In 2018, I read St. John Paul II’s Letter to Artists for the first time, and it rocked my world.
I read it during a week when God spoke loudly to me through many signs that writing was indeed something I was made to do (see this post for more on that). The fact that this letter was published in 1999 was also significant to me because that was the year I decided I wanted to be a writer.
This letter still inspires me. . . . .
Hello, my name is Onyx.
I’m taking over this newsletter to let you know that my human, Katelin, is no longer available to write for you.
She has a full time job now in taking care of me and my sister Opal.
Opal can’t talk right now because she’s running around exploring the house.
Anyway, my human is busy taking care of us. . . . .
I’m afraid of publishing.
I don’t like putting myself out there to be seen, read, noticed by people I don’t know. They might form opinions about me, judge me based on my writing. I can’t see their reactions and I don’t know whether they like me or not. If they misunderstand me, I won’t know and can’t correct them. Or worse, they might go public with negative statements about me.
And if lots of strangers end up liking me and my writing . . . .
Jason Simon, the President of The Evangelical Catholic, published a book last year: Mission-Ready Friendship: A Blueprint for Deeper Relationships and Life-Changing Faith. I had the privilege of reading and giving feedback on one of his drafts. It’s an accessible, engaging read that provides a fresh look on how to help your friends grow closer to Jesus.
The Evangelical Catholic is a nonprofit that helps Catholic parishes and campus ministries create systems to train and support lay people for mission in their communities. . . . .
The first quarter of the year will be over soon. You know what that means? Time to make goals for next quarter!
For those of you writing a book:
Where are you at with your book project at the moment?
Where do you want to be with your book by the end of June?
What would you have to change about your writing habits to get there? . . . .
Thomas Salerno published his debut children’s nonfiction book The Riddle of the Tongue-Stones: How Blessed Nicolas Steno Uncovered the Hidden History of the Earth on February 3, 2025!
This is such a fun, beautiful little book. Nicolas Steno’s scientific discoveries and story of faith is written in a simple yet interesting style with lots of great illustrations. I love geology, so I easily fell in love with this book.
In this interview, Thomas shares her journey of writing and publishing . . . .
Mary Rose Kreger published her first novel, Avalon Lost, last year. It’s exactly my kind of book: a YA portal fantasy featuring plenty of sword fights! I especially appreciate that the main character is a fencer. Mary Rose and I share a background in that sport! Avalon Lost was one of my favorite reads last year and I highly recommend it.
In this interview, Mary shares her journey of writing and publishing Avalon Lost. I hope you find it as inspiring as I do!
Why did you write this book? What was your inspiration? . . . .
For several years in my twenties, I wondered if writing fantasy stories was a waste of my time and energy. What good did it do anyone? Surely God would want me to do something useful that concretely helped people instead of obsessing over my invented imaginary worlds and characters.
On top of that, I had trouble believing that God would want me to do something that I actually enjoyed. I should do what God wanted and not what I wanted, so maybe that meant giving up writing. . . . .
I’m preparing to query my novel Bound by Charcoal and Clay.
It’s been a long road to get to this point! Ideas can develop into novel-length stories in any number of ways, and it can be a fast or slow process. This one took about two decades and five drafts (so far). I’m sharing this journey to introduce you to my creative work, demystify the writing process, and to help others whose projects seem to be taking forever not feel alone.
I’ll start by giving you my current summary of my novel . . . .